The Tory government headed by Margaret Thatcher was elected in May
1979, faced by the most serious crisis British capitalism had seen
since the Second World War – untill now. Thatcher was determined to
confront the working class and put the burden of the crisis on their
shoulders. That is exactly what the Tories want to do now.
The strike by 1.3 million public sector workers in South Africa has
entered its third week after angry union members rejected the latest
offer from the government.
Recently, TV and talk radio have been obsessed with stopping the
construction of an “Islamic Center and Mosque” which will be located
two blocks away from where the World Trade Center used to be. The right
wing, including former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and NY
Republican Gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio, have seized on this
issue, attempting to gain political support…What Gingrich, Lazio,
Reid and other right-wing commentators are practicing is a well known
method known as “divide and rule.”
In 1948 all the Tory MPs in the House of Commons dutifully voted
against the setting up of the National Health Service. For more than
sixty years since, the NHS has been one of our most loved institutions,
relied on by millions of people to look after their health. The Tories
have publicly regretted their stance and pledged that, “the NHS is safe
in our hands.” We now see that was a lie. If new Health Secretary
Andrew Lansley’s plans, called ‘Liberating the NHS’, goes through the
NHS will be in tatters in five years time.
IRELAND: Minister of
Finance Brian Lenihan claimed last night that the economy hasn’t stalled and
that in spite of a lot of evidence to the contrary it has stabilised. Economic
indicators which had appeared to indicate some economic growth now seem to have
fizzled out. Given Lenihan’s track record it’s no surprise that many will be
sceptical about his claims, especially when the figures seem to demonstrate the
opposite.
On the morning of Saturday 28th August Bradford had become a ghost
town. Pubs, shops and cafes were boarded up and the Saturday shoppers
stayed away. Some landlords had gone one further by piling up all their
beer garden tables and chairs against the doors to keep the trouble
out. The EDL were in town to “peacefully protest” against the supposed
takeover by radical Islam.